Roamers
Roaming Families One of the ongoing trends nobody likes to talk about in the Sixth World is the quiet rise of nomadism. People have always taken to the road in times of trouble, and that's as true in the middle of North America as it is in the Amazon or the Eurasian Steppe . Back in the 1930's, during the Dustbowl, whole farming families picked uprooted and headed west to find better climates, both environmentally and economically. The combination of increasing automation, a move of resources from country to city and the erosion of social services, as well as environmental disasters and political instability were in the process of displacing a lot of the formerly settled families of rural America even before The Awakening. The Ghost Dance and what came after, both magically and economically, only accelerated that process. Now, while most of the people displaced this way ended up either in corp enclaves or moving into the cities, some people either weren't suited to urban life or just were too stubborn to say 'die' and they packed up their things and took to the road. This didn't happen all at once, but gradually. In time, it started happening enough that groups of homeless people and families started to group to together, to try and help each other survive in an increasingly hostile world, their numbers swelled with refugees, displaced anglos from the Oceti Sakowin or refugees fleeing the civil war in the Niswi-mishkodewinan and even some Chigoans fleeing "Bug City" who made their way farther than the Twin Cities. In the Red River Valley, they call themselves 'Roaming Families' or Roamers (they get called a lot of other names by outsiders). These bands of itinerant laborers, scavengers and nomads (and sometimes thieves and bandits, although less than BSI would have you think) roam the Zone (and beyond if they can manage it) eking out a living however best they can. These 'Families' can have a lot of variety, some are loosely-organized tribes, some are actual extended families, some are more like tight-knit gangs or cults. But they are a vital part of the life of the road outside the urban centers in the abandoned countryside of the midwest. You could even argue that such outliers as the Jacks are a type of Roamer, although most Roamers would deny that connection fiercely. That being said, the Jacks are said to have kin in some of the larger Families, so take that for what you will. Naturally, the Roamers, who are largely ignored or persecuted by legitimate authorities (or in the case of the big Agricorps, ruthlessly exploited), do business with anyone they can and often have ties to a lot of outliers on the fringes of urban society, doing business with Riverling crews, Moorlocks, the Night Bazaar , Biodynamicists, Amazonian Refugees or even gangs like the Heathens MC. The more magically-inclined among them often associate with The Crop Circle or Riverwalkers , and the I-29ers are an initiation tradition that exists entirely within Roamer society, although no true Roamer will ever speak of them with someone outside the Families. It should go without saying that all the guns and armored trucks aren't just for show. Its no longer safe out on the roads, no matter what TranSec tells you, not only dangerous creatures and common bandits, but also that the Roamers are the primary victims of the Tamanous 'harvesting' efforts... Return to: Culture Category:Culture